The Night Angels
by Annaiese
Summary: One thousand years after the fall of the Silver Millenium, a mysterious girl and four men appear to the sailor scouts, wishing to aid them in their newest plight. The veil of lies surronding the fall must be lifted in order to succeed.
1. Dusk

A/N Sorry guys, this has been in my head for awhile now, it seemed the time to get it on electronic paper, as it were. Don't worry, WDMC is still in the process, when I have more time to write. =)

The petite, silver headed blonde sat sullenly on the soft butter colored leather couch. It was the newest addition to the home, and had replaced the faded blue love seat her husband had used since he entered college. Now, in his first year of residency, he was making enough to replace all his old beat up furniture, albeit slowly. Unfortunately, he spent so much time at the hospital working for that pay check that his newly wedded wife barley saw him. Serena let out a heavy sigh, stared at the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time, and waited for the consistent phone call from her cell phone that would inform her that her husband indeed would be late this evening as well. So when the house phone, and not her cell phone, rang instead, Serena was surprised enough to forget her recent unhappiness and revert back to her normal, cheerful self.

"Hello, Chiba residence, Serena speaking."

A voice, soft, with an American accent typical of the South, spoke in shaking Japanese. "I'm sorry to bother you. Is Darien Chiba available?"

Serena was a even more surprised now, as those from the hospital would generally call his cell phone, as would Andrew, or any of his other friends. She thought for a moment that the voice might be an admirer, then immediately dismissed the idea, her Darien was indeed the most handsome man in the universe, known or otherwise, but he didn't invite that sort of attention. Perplexed, Serena stared at the phone for a moment, willing the caller to appear so she could identify her, and settle her suspicions. With a mental note to ask her husband who this girl was when he returned, Serena answered "I'm sorry, he's at the hospital at the moment. May I ask who's calling? Perhaps I can take a message?"

On the other side of the line, there was a resigned sigh that almost sounded like a sob. Serena opened her mouth to speak when she heard a sniffle, than a resolute drawing of breath before the caller spoke again, in a stronger voice this time. "No, that's alright. Is there a number I can reach him? I'm afraid it's a personal matter, and I need him to confirm something for me. I'm sorry to trouble you."

"No, that's alright." While Serena's back may have gone up at the mention of a personal matter, her philosophy being nothing was personal in the sanctity that was marriage, she wisely kept the thought firmly behind her teeth, and added to her mental list of questions to ask Darien when he returned home. "Here, let me give you his cell phone number. He may not answer right away, but he'll return the call as soon as he gets a chance." As she rattled off the number displayed on the refrigerator, along with a string of poetic words, some cheesy magnetic from places they vacationed together, numbers for fast food places that delivered, and a shopping list that included laundry detergent, Serena wondered what this southern belle could possibly want with her prince. When she had repeated the number twice, and the furiously scribbling had subsided on the other end of the line, the blonde rearranged some of the poetic words, smiling softly to herself.

"Thank you so much for your help ma'am, and I'm sorry to bother you again. Good-bye."

"It was no trouble. Good-bye."

Serena had another moment of staring confused at the phone, before setting it in its' cradle, and turning back to the refrigerator. Pressing a kiss beneath the string of words that had recently been rearranged, the girl smiled, then walked into the living room to see if there were any good shows on while she waited for her husband to return.

The words simply read 'I love you.'

,.;:+`~ Meanwhile ~`+:;.,

Darien was having a hell of a day. Two car accidents, an overdose, a minor heartattack, and a colon infection after he had started his shift, he was preparing to clock out and spend a much deserved rest at home with his wife. "Great job with the head trauma case, Chiba."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now now, when are you going to stop all this sir business? You've been with us for four months Darien, we're practically family!"

"Yes sir."

The older man sighed, his bald head gleaming under the harsh fluorescent lights, and his eyes twinkling, much like Santa Claus, in undisguised merriment. He muttered something about young people, elders, and requests before a page had him dashing off to perform yet another surgery. Darien chuckled despite himself, entertained by the fact that the only reason he used 'sir' around Dr. Freidmont was because he knew it annoyed him. When his phone rang, he prepared to inform his often overenthusiastic wife that he would be home soon. This required a moment of preparation for the ear splitting shriek that would surely follow his announcement. With a grin, he reached into the pocket of his jeans hidden by his scrubs, when the phone itself rang. Serena rarely rang him at the hospital, and everyone else he talked to save the scouts or Andrew were here or sleeping. He noted the restricted number, and prepared to ruin his good mood by informing whatever credit card, collection company, or political ad campaign that he wasn't interested in whatever they were selling, supporting, or campaigning for.

"Dr. Chiba speaking." There was a moments pause and Darien wondered if maybe they had the wrong number. Then the voice spoke, Japanese with an accent that hinted at magnolia blossoms and sun tea. A questioned was asked, one that startled the otherwise infallible doctor. "No I don't." The voice spoke again. "Wait, really?" A reply. "No, I think we'd better get this straightened out now. There's an Arcade called the 'Crown' on fourth street. Can you meet me there in thirty minutes?" An answer. "Good-bye." A closing. Darien pressed the 'END' button, then dialed another number.

"Serena, can you meet me at the Crown in twenty? I need you."

"Of course, but why? What's wrong Darien?"

"There's a girl. She claims she's my sister."

,.;:+`~ Meanwhile ~`+:;.,

A young woman, because she was considered a woman now by law, stared at the phone in her hand before looking at the four men that surrounded her. She met the eyes of each one. When she spoke it was slowly, and in English. "It is done."

Then, she crossed her arms on the desk and sobbed into them.


	2. Evening

A/N So, I'm setting a time table for this, putting it in todays time. Hope y'all don't mind. Anyway, reviews are appreciated. Also, I'm in need of a good name for a bad guy if anyone has any suggestions.

Darien stood with Serena outside of the Crown Arcade, trying in vain to settle his heartbeat and level his breathing. _This is ridiculous, Chiba. You have nothing to be worried about. You don't have a sister. Couldn't possibly have a sister. There's no way, unless… _The unless was what was bothering him. When asked about his parents, all he could do was smile, and say they had died in a car accident when he was young. He had no recollection of his past. Even Lita had some memories of her parents, and Raye had vague reminiscences of her mother. Darien didn't even have photographs. His earliest memory having been when he was eight years old, and the doctors at the hospital telling him his parents had gone to Heaven. A vain attempt to comfort a shocked and grieving child whose life had been ripped to pieces in a matter of moments. _You don't have a sister. Surely, the hospital and orphanage would have put you together._ With that comforting thought, he drew in a breath, nodded at Serena, and stepped through the opened door of the Crown Arcade to refute the claims of this woman. And then, he saw her.

Every explanation, every assurance flew out the window as he stared at the woman whose eyes were the exact pigment and shape of his, whose hair had the same dark color as his own. He felt the hand clutched in his own shake slightly, and heard Serena take a sharp intake of breath. Although the noise was almost imperceptible even to those who were standing near her, the women, no she was hardly more than a girl, looked up from the cup she had been staring at. When she caught sight of him, her own eyes widened and the hands that gripped the cup like a lifeline tightened. She rose, and Darien had a moment to notice a tall girl, perhaps a few inches shorter than Mina, but taller than Raye, of slight build dressed in a business suit the exact same color of her eyes. Any thought that there could possibly be a mistake left him as he studied the girl who looked so much like him. Hell, she even bites her bottom lip when she's nervous. A trait that Serena noticed whenever he was trying to keep from her. Like when he stuck a red sock in with her whites. Darien took all this in as he walked toward her slowly, with Serena by his side.

"You must be Miss Sheridan?"

"Yes, I-uh- my name's Ari. Well, Arianna. I- I'm sorry. I'm not sure how to do this."

"Perhaps you should take a seat, and we can discuss it," as he spoke, Darien began to slid into the booth, taking a flabbergasted Serena with him. "This is my wife, Serena."

"Oh! How do you do?" Arianna asked as she offered a hand. Serena shook it willingly, noting the strength of it, not purposeful, but merely an absence of knowledge in regards to that strength, and the calluses that marred the otherwise small hand. She wondered briefly what a girl who had been raised as she guessed Arianna had, with the nice clothes, impeccable manners, and smooth speech, could possibly be doing that would garner her calluses and require the strength she sensed the girl had. She offered a genuine smile, one that lit her entire face and was rewarded when Arianna smiled back and the hand held in hers relaxed ever so slightly.

"So, Miss Sheridan. What can we do for you?" Darien asked, his eyes locking with hers. He saw her flinch visibly at the use of her last name. Then resolutely straighten her shoulders and look him dead in the eye.

"Arianna, please. And I have come because I have reason to believe you're my brother." She spoke clearly, slowly, and in perfect Japanese, regardless of the southern accent that accompanied the words. "I have an adoption notice, blood work, overseas travel papers, immunization records, as well as various written accounts of people who came in contact with me when I was a child." Darien studied all the papers as she removed them from the briefcase and laid them out on the table for him to see. A dozen questions floated in his mind, as well as a multitude of denials. He pushed those aside and asked the question that, while not the most pertinent, was the one that was drifting in the forefront of his mind.

"When we're you born?"

The questioned had the girl who sat across from him blinking. _Wasn't expecting that one._ However, despite her surprise, she answered quickly and evenly, pulling out a Driver's License from the state of Georgia as she did so. "April 17, 1991. I'm eighteen years old." She added, as though he couldn't do the math himself. His indignation quickly fled, as did all color in his face.

Serena, ever watchful, quickly grabbed his hand, and squeezed it gently, her eyes never leaving his as she spoke. "The dates fit don't they?" She asked, and when Darien could only nod she turned to the girl whose face had gone as pale as her husband. "His parents, well I guess **your** parents, died about three weeks after that. On the fifth of May." She watched as the girl pulled out manila envelope, and with it, grabbed one of the ever growing pieces of paper from the table.

"This is my file for adoption, it says here that when my parents failed to return home, my babysitter called the police, when they arrived, the cross referenced the address and discovered that my-I mean our- parents had been in an accident. I guess at the time, you," she spoke, her eyes moving to rest on Darien, "were in a coma. They called the social worker, who had just recently hired, and she placed me with a family in America. This would have been two weeks later, and the police in charge of the accident, as well as the doctors in charge of your treatment had both been reassigned. Communication fell through, and the fact that I even had a brother was not mentioned in any of the reports that my adoptive parents received. I had to dig for a good two months in the archives of the adoption agency before I found a mention of you." She turned the journal around to allow Darien to read it, as she read the other paper she had been holding. This is a copy of the blood work I had done, and it would seem that I inherit my blood type from our mother, as well as our hair color. The eyes however, are from our paternal grandfather." She smiled then, for the first time and handed him the sheet of paper. Her smile fled however as she looked into eyes the same color as her own. These ones were filled with such a deep air of misery that Ari thought that maybe she shouldn't have come. _Don't be silly. You knew this could happen. You knew that coming here, making this information known would be a risk. You were prepared for the fact that you may not be wanted. Don't be shocked. _She opened her mouth, intent on apologizing and leaving as quickly as she could, but it was Serena who spoke first, in a voice infinitely warm and quiet, one a mother might use to comfort a distraught child.

"Arianna, Darien can't tell you if that's true or not. He has no memories of when he was a child, before he woke up in the hospital. He has no idea what his parents look like, or his grandparents for that matter. I believe the house was sold and all the property donated before he ever woke from the coma, as well as any family mementos or photographs that might have been there. I'm sorry."

"Oh!" Instantly berating herself for not thinking of that first, and feeling miserable because Darien was, Arianna reached her bag yet again. "I have some photographs, if that would help. You can keep them, I have others at home." She offered that packet to Darien, and he took it without a word, opening it slowly and lifting the small rectangles of memories from their pouch. "You'll want to get all this information checked of course, and I'll be more than happy to meet with you at your convenience. My doctor at home in Georgia will have whatever information you require, you've only to request it, as well as the adoption agency. I truly am sorry to have interrupted your day. I never meant to cause any discontent; I just wanted to meet my brother. I'm sorry, goodbye." Feeling decidedly ashamed, and with no idea why, Ari stood on shaking legs and began to gather the information that Darien wouldn't need to prove or disprove her claim.

"Wait." For the first time in over a half hour, Darien spoke, and his voice wasn't angry, as she had thought, but choked with emotion. "Wait, Ari. Please." The use of her name, the shortened version used by friends and family alike, had her sitting down again. "May I ask, why now?"

Again Ari smiled. "I just found out. Well, not just, I found out on April 17, my birthday. My parents thought I was old enough to know the truth. I thought there might be a possibility of my being adopted, as I look nothing like the members of my family. My brother, my adoptive brother," she corrected with an inward wince, "says I'm the milkman's kid, but my parents just laughed it off. And I never found the courage to ask if I actually belong to them."

Serena, having a friend who was raised by her grandfather, a friend and husband both who had lost both their parents, spoke up, "you belong with the people who love you. And I consider myself lucky to have multiple families that care about me." She spoke of the scouts, as well as her own family, and her parents from the moon kingdom. Ari's face brightened at the statement, and she nodded. "Darien, I have to be honest. I would like, more then I can say, to have a relationship with you, I want to get to know my older brother, if it turns out to be you. But I also understand that this may not be what you want. If that is the case, I will respect your wishes, and you will never hear from me again. This is the number of the hotel we are staying at, as well as the room number. If I'm not there, leave a message with one of my friends, and I'll get back to you as soon as I'm able. Regardless of how this turns out, it truly was a pleasure to meet you."

"You're leaving?" Ari had a momentarily thrill to see the man she considered her brother, by all intents and purposes, to be distraught at the prospect of her leaving, even if it was only to garner more information about her and his parents. "I'm sorry, I'm supposed to meet my friends for lunch, they've been house shopping all day, and are probably very tired. Thank you so much for agreeing to meet with me." With a wave, she walked out of the arcade in a way that had all the men, including Andrew turning to stare, and Darien shot them all murderous glances. Serena noticed the look, and laughed lightly as she gathered her things including the papers that had all of Arianna Marie Sheridan's information on them. "You've already got the big brother protection thing nailed, Darien."

Darien looked up from the photographs he had gone back to studying after Ari had left, the one on top held a picture of him, holding his newly born sister, his mothers' arms around him. "Sere," his voice shook, and he coughed to clear it "Sere- I have a sister. I have family." She smiled, knowing that his forgetfulness that she was his family stemmed from over emotional exposure. And so, she leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I know, congratulat- oh shoot!" Her communicator rang, and her eyes darkened as she read the readout. Darien looked up an eyebrow raised in question. "Youma, just down the street. Time for work." Then she grinned, reverting back to the cheerful twenty year old girl whom he loved above all others.

"Can you handle him for a bit while I get this picked up," he threw up a hand signaling Andrew to tally up the bill, " I can meet you there in a few."

"Yea, I can soften him up. I'll see you in a few." He watched as she ran out the door, and around the corner, where no one would be this time a day, to change into her alter-ego the crime-fighting-youma-smashing heroine Sailor Moon. He grinned as Andrew moseyed over with his bill, and then glared at his best friend when he asked "Dude, who was that chick with you? She's gorgeous!"

"That, Andrew, is my **little** emphasis on **little** sister. No touching." And handing him the bill Darien walked out to join his wife/princess in her youma smashing as Tuxedo Mask.

,.;:+`~ Meanwhile ~`+:;.,

"I can't believe you just let her go! For all we know this guy could be some kind of rapist! Or a murderer!" The blue eyed blond glared angrily at the much larger man whose eyes were the color of ice, a kind of blue grey that upped the intimidation factor exponential, especially paired with the arched eyebrow, mouth-in-a-line look that the man currently wore.

"She's a big girl Jake, she can handle it."

"She cannot! She's just a little-"

"Don't say girl, even if she's fifty miles away she'll here you and box your ears for it."

"She's barely eighteen." Jake looked at the ground, a frown marring his otherwise handsome features. Throughout high school and college, his face had been the objective of many women's sighs, a few horrendous poems, and one very sappy song that left the singer the butt of many jokes in their circle of friends. Cornflower blue eyes that smiled and laughed easily, a grin that was quick and easy, tan skin and a halo of hair the color of ripe wheat. One of his many girlfriends said he looked like an angel, and his friends never let him forget it. "She's my little sister. I don't care what any papers say."

Understanding the man's frustration, and his devotion, as Ari was a sister to him as well. The grey eyed man stood. "I know, and if you would have shut up for more than three seconds, I would have told you that Zach is bringing the car around now."

"Wait, what?"

"You really didn't think I was going to let her go alone did you? Despite what she says, she's still young and still very innocent."

Smiling Jake reached for his coat. "How big of a lead does she have."

"Ten minutes, and Zach was sent after five, she came back in for her briefcase, after three."

"Smart man."

"I try," grabbing his coat, he held the door as Jake walked out ahead of him.


End file.
